New Drug Czar & Broadband

New Drug Czar & Broadband plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Farmers and ranchers are increasingly depending on their computers and the internet for their operations but access to the internet is often spotty. Federal officials are hoping to begin funding broadband related projects around the U.S. beginning this spring. But first there will be a series of public comment meetings and then according to Scott Deutchman of FCC:

DEUTCHMAN: In coordination with the Department of Agriculture, the chairman of the FCC must provide Congress with a report on a rural broadband strategy by May 22^nd of this year.

Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske was officially nominated to the Head the Office of National Drug Control Policy, a position commonly referred to as "The Drug Czar." Vice President Joe Biden said that Kerlikowske will bring a lifetime of experience working on drug policy. While it requires Senate confirmation, the job is no longer a cabinet level position. Kerlikowske would report to Biden. The 59-year-old Kerlikowske has been Seattle's Top Cop since 2000, and came to Seattle after serving in the Justice Department. Colleagues expect him to ramp up efforts to stem demand for illegal narcotics by emphasizing prevention and treatment.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

The famous 1928 Herbert Hoover presidential campaign slogan of, “A chicken in every pot”, may soon be, “A chicken in every backyard”. Ironic isn’t it how things seem to come full circle in so many ways. It used to be considered common place for most folks here in the U.S., prior to WWII, to grow their own food, from eggplant to eggs. But as people left the rural communities and gravitated to metropolitan areas, anyone in "the city with backyard livestock such as chicken houses were thought of as “wacky” or “strange”. Now however, a large number of city dwellers are raising chickens in places such as Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York. The chicken it seems is quickly becoming the proud mascot for the local food movement. And while the chickens are raised mostly for their egg producing, there are some communities utilizing mobile slaughterhouses to produce poultry meat. Backyard raised livestock is quickly becoming popular nationwide and is a natural extension of the urban farming movement, bringing a lot of us full circle.

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.